Light and Shadow
by The Mad Mystic
Summary: AUish, Harry is attending first year at Hogwarts, and does not seek normality. He instead seeks the top, just like Riddle before him. Dumbledore may be worried, but is it really so bad to want to stand at the top? Besides, Harry is acting much differently than Riddle, and Dumbledore knows it... but that is the scariest part. Unknown Pairing, no bashing, OOCish Harry
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I probably misspelled a bunch of names, or objects, but Harry Potter has the worst names Ive ever done. At least the japanese names made sense... Still, here it is!

* * *

Harry was quite unsure how he should act towards this person, Ronald Weasley. Part of him, the small part which had not quite left the Dursleys, wanted to mimic his personality. After all, it would be better to just blend in, right?

Well, no. He hated who they almost made him, with an intense passion. They made him meek, fearful, and dependent. He hated those things about himself, and knew from the moment he set foot on the train, that he finally had a new chance. Not one to waste a chance, he had even begun to act differently on the train. The key to improving oneself was to adjust your actions and measure how they affect everything. He learned that early on...

Still, for him it was less of a mask and more removing his mask. To survive the Dursley's for eleven years, he had to wear a mask of complacency, one which made it impossible for him to stand out. Though he had been saved, in a way, he still had to live there, just keeping up appearances. After all, it would be dangerous if anyone knew...

So, ditching the mask of a fearful little boy, Harry smiled, hoping he appeared more charismatic than he felt, shaking Ron's hand. "Harry Potter." As Ron had already introduced his name, he did not expect him to say anything further. Though, perhaps he should have expected it due to his fame.

Ron's eyes widened, his smile widening. "Really? You know you have a few people searching for you on the train."

Harry did not expect anything less, accoridng to Hagrid his name was more famous than it should have been, reaching almost every single person. He had the kind of fame that most only dreamed of. "Were you one of them?" He smirked, not quite sure he could trust Ron after that statement.

"Nah, I just wanted a more roomy compartment." Ron shrugged, leaning back into his chair.

Harry shrugged, finding no reason to refute that. "Fair enough. Anyone in particular looki-" He wouldve finished the question, had some pale blond kid not forced open the compartment door. If that werent rude enough, he had brought two spare gorrillas as bodyguards.

"Ive heard Harry Potter is on this train." The obvious leader had a hint of disdain in his voice, though it was directed at Ron, rather than Harry. Strange, but perhaps their families had some sort of history. It did seem to be that the Wizarding World took family matters far more seriously than personal matters.

"As have I." Harry smoothly replied, acting much less annoyed than he felt. Well, he also felt a bit amused. Just how much could he fuck with this kid...

"Ah, I see." The rude brat immediately left, surprising Harry with how much he wanted to meet Harry... Interesting. Many would attempt to use his fame for their own purposes, believing him to be ignorant to politics. Sadly, the sheer backward nature of the Wizarding World meant that politics to them was essentially following whoever spoke the loudest and had the most gold. That... was somthing he could do.

"That was Draco Malfoy, real git. Obsessed with Blood Purity, of all things. Pretty cool how you got him to leave, though, howd you do that?" Ron seemed nice, but a bit thick. Well, that could be helped, and it wasnt like he was used to people being on the same level as him.

"He only wanted to talk to Harry Potter, I just agreed that I heard he was on the train, and he had no further purpose bothering us. Nice to know though, what is blood purity exactly?"

"Oh, some wizards believe that anyone born from muggle parents is impure. Halfblood, muggleborn, even squibs." Ron explained.

"Thats some... intense racism going on. How bad is it?" Harry was rather worred this new world would be as totalitarian as the Dursley house.

"Its gotten better, probably wouldve died out if not for You-Know-Who. Thanks to my dad, we have a muggle protection act, so that also helps."

Harry idly wondered if anyone understood that muggles did not need protection from wizards, especially not anyone half trained... However, what horrified him was not that there was a muggle protection act, but that it was necessary. "Sounds a bit worrying to be honest, just the fact that that kind of act is necessary makes me wonder about the state of the world."

"Well, its a pretty common thing, wizards not liking muggles. Ask a blood purist, theyll say the Statue of Secrecy is for the protection of muggles, or convinience, but in reality, its because they all hate and fear muggles. Its a good way to keep away from them, you know." Ron's statements only confirmed Harry's fears. That was... worrying.

"I see... hrm. Well, you are obviously informed, or raised magical at least, so mind if I ask you a few things? I was raised by muggles, not that horse shit those books spout." Worrying, but not enough to curb his interest in the magical world.

Ron obviously appreciated the attention, which was... well, it was something alright. Seemed like he never got any attention, or at least only got negative attention. It also seemed he was unused to someone else knowing less than him. "Im a pureblood myself, not a purist though. Whatd ya want to know?"

Harry chuckled lightly, amused by Ron's jovial nature. He was a pretty nice guy, really. "Well, I was wondering about this game, Quidditch..." The two delved into the aspects of the game, Ron telling Harry about the rules and positions, while Harry asked questions which Ron had no problem answering. He was quite knowledgable on the matter, actually.

The two were interrupted when Harry was learning the secondary ways the game could end, other than getting the snitch, as that would be a terrible game if it only could end through the Snitch. It did seem pretty intense for a sport, and Harry felt tempted to get in on it, if he were any good with a broom.

A decent looking young woman opened the compartment doors, not quite as rude as Draco, but not quite polite either, before asking "Have either of you seen a toad, a boy named Nevile has lost his." She paused momentarily, seeing how close the boys were to each other. "Er... nevermind, thanks anyway." She flushed before immediately fleeing before either of the two could explain.

The two suddenly looked at each other, as they had been leaning forwards when discussing Quidditch, before leaning and scooting back to avoid any further embarassment like that. "Not in a million years." Harry spoke.

"Not even if you were a girl." Ron agreed.

"Hey! Id make a great girl. Bet Id be hot as hell too."

"Uh... I dont want to even think about that."

"Fine, fine. So you were saying when the captain makes five consectutive scores in the same hole, the game ends?"

"Yep. It can also work out by ten successful blocks in a row too." Grammar was not his strongest suit, but Harry found he did not mind too much. So long as the message came across, there was nothing to worry about.

The train ride was boring for most of the latter half, though Ron had explained some of the customs of the magic world, though not the pureblood ones, as his family gave precisely no shits about those. He didnt phrase it like that, but Harry certainly did. It was far more fun than saying that his family was desensitized towards the articulate and complicated gestures indicating various complex emotional responses that were only understood by the elite of the society. Yes, much more fun and much more comprehensible.

Still, he realized, he was content. This place was much better than the Durselys, even if he had no idea what Hogwarts would be like. It was a school, and he was left alone at Schools, the Durselys had discouraged bad grades, so he always did his absolute best, and came out on top because of it. He had learned early on that they believed that if he learned 'normal' knowledge, he would become more normal. It was too bad for them that it was untrue, and that he began to enjoy the learning.

His thoughts, and Ron's light snoring, were interrupted once more, by the same girl, and a slightly chubby boy, though he knew better than anyone to not joke around about someone being chubby, or even outright fat. It was never a happy lifestyle, and, judging from what he had seen when Vernon and Dudley tried, intensely difficult to change. Besides, he was only chubby and not ridiculously large, like Vernon. There was a reasonable limit, after all.

Harry shook his head to clear those thoughts. "whats up?"

Taken back momentarily by Harry's apparently uncaring attitude, the girl spoke again. "Would you mind if we sit here? Someone took over our compartment while we were searching for his toad."

Harry smirked, feeling like messing with the girl. "Only if the pretty girl introduces herself."

She rolled her eyes, but complied, sitting down next to him, with Nevile next to Ron, who was still sleeping, albeit without the snoring. "Hermione Granger." She was... up-tight, really, introducing yourself was much more than a name, but maybe his comment had irritated her. Oops.

"Sorry, I was just messing with you. Im Harry Potter." Harry grinned, rather embarrassed about flirting with her, teasingly or not.

"Neville Longbottom." The chubby kid spoke, though given his posture and voice, Harry assumed it was more out of shyness than irritation.

He turned back to Hermione, only to see her lips pursed. "Oh you were only joking that I was a pretty girl?"

"What, no. I. was just... Agh. You got me, that was slick." He caught on halfway through stumbling with his words, realizing she was messing with him as well.

She giggled a bit, smirking right back at him. "Well, you didnt answer." Oh if she wanted to keep the game going, by all means!

"Well, the answer should be apparent whenever you look into a mirror."

"From it cracking?"

Harry paused. "I guess too much beauty could break a mirror, but I wouldnt know." He considered himself fairly plain, really. Messy black hair, not very muscular, not that tall, he was pretty average in terms of appearances.

On the other hand, Hermione didnt seem to stand out in that regard either, though perhaps it was due to the robes. Still, she had the most insanely curly hair he had ever seen, and in the bushy way too. She was about as tall as him, which most men would dislike for some reason, but in general she was... plain. Not unattractive, but not a great beauty. She did have buckteeth, but it wasnt terrible.

Hermione rolled her yes again. The three conscious began to discuss things for Hogwarts, realizing they knew almost nothing about houses or what each house was about.

"Well, Im hoping for Gryffindor myself, Dumbledore used to be in it, you know?" Hermione commented.

"House of the brave, not bad. Kind of surprising, but not bad. I figured you for a Slytherin or Ravenclaw, honestly. Ill probably fit in best with Gryffindor, but I could see myself in any of the houses." Harry responded.

"Ill probably go to Hufflepuff." The shy boy spoke up, which was pretty rare, but not unwelcome. He had an... interesting point of view.

"Ah, hard working and loyal. Great things to be, really. Not the place to find the usual leader, but the usual leader is a terrible one too. Besides, not everyone wants to be a leader." Harry shrugged.

Neville seemed quite embarrassed, but said nothing further. Hermione, however, decided to respond to something Harry said. "Slytherin? Why do you think I would be in that house?" She seemed defensive with her words, which was odd...

"Well, cunning and ambitious. You were sly enough to get that joke on me earlier, and with all those books, you definitely have a goal, or at least a intense thirst for knowledge, not that I can blame you." He said, motioning towards the trunk she had brought in, which had weighed more than Harry. That was particularly annoying because he had to lift it over his head to reach the rack... thankfully Neville was quite a bit stronger than he seemed, and helped out.

"Oh, Ive just heard that Slytherin was a terrible house to be in, all about blood purity and dark magic." Hermione mumbled out, her ears pink, though it couldnt be seen, from the compliments.

"Thats a load of shit, if they had a house that determined if you were racist and into dark magic, they would just expel that house from school. Actually... hm." Harry paused, placing his hand on his chin, in an exaggerated thinking pose. "I got it! Ill join Slytherin and turn the reputation around."

"Harry! Youll be subjected to dark magic and blood purity, Hermione wasnt kidding, and they have that reputation for a reason." Neville, speaking louder than he had before, tried to convince Harry to not join.

"All the more reason to join. I could save a few of them from going that route, and show that blood status means nothing. Results over everything." Harry grinned. "After all, what else would I do with my spare time?"

"You arent scared that someone might try to kill you?" Hermione had an absolutely adorable worried expression on her face, but Harry ignored that.

"Fear is a superpower, but not really. With me learning that I am famous, it means I have quite a bit of pull, and we arent dealing with eleven year olds, but fifteen or sixteen year olds who have the sense to not go after someone with such a profound fame. Besides, I intend to learn how to defend myself post-haste." Harry grinned wider, excited at the prospect.

"Just... be careful and think hard on it. You guys should change clothes, and wake sleeping beauty over there. Im going to use the bathroom." Hermione exited from the compartment, leaving behind a curious Harry, questioning why exactly Slytherin had such a terrible reputation.

* * *

The students arrived at the castle with only one person falling into the lake, which was a rare thing but not surprising. What did a bunch of kids know about controlling themselves? Hagrid certainly wouldnt control them, but she would. McGonagall knew she would regret the day Hagrid applied for Groundskeeper, but there were simply none better for the job. Why Dumbledore trusted him with so many jobs he simply wasnt good for was beyond her. She liked Hagrid, she really did, but he did not belong in anything involving safety, or small children, which was what she saw those fifteen year olds as. After all, compared to an eighty year old woman, what were they but children?

"Step inside, and wait for your name to be called. Once your name is called, come to the front and sit on the stool. You will be sorted by the Sorting hat, an enchanted hat belonging to Rowena Ravenclaw. Your house will be like your family at Hogwarts, so make sure you do nothing to ruin it."

Harry felt kind of worried about that, but ignored it. He knew the feeling would just hinder him, and it had no use in this. He needed to move forward for his desires, not hesitate in fear. He paused momentarily, realizing he would probably make a good Gryffindor.

When it was Harry's turn to go to the hat, he walked slower than everyone else, not too much, but enough for everyone to know he was doing it deliberately, and drawing their attention more. Slow walks seemed more purposful, after all. At least to him.

The teacher, or professor, placed the oversized, outdated, and frankly tacky, hat onto his head, before his vision was blocked out by the oversized brim of the hat. It seemed like Rowena had an enormous head...

 _"Or perhaps time stretches things. My word, I do get quite tired of being insulted in the heads of you children."_

 _"You are a thousand years old, so I suppose 'you children' isnt so much an insult as an observation. So, how do we do this, questions, mental battle, or a psychic reading?"_

 _"Quite the smart aleck, arent you? The process is closest to a psychological reading, but in a magical way. More refined and much quicker. Your mind is... quite something."_

 _"Ill take that as a compliment. Think we could use similar magic to scan for potential dangers in students? Psychopaths, depressed students, sociopaths, abusive households, things like that?"_

 _"Hm, its possible, but we are getting off track. Lets see..."_ Harry waited patiently for the hat to mind rape him. _"It is not mind rape, you brat! Its a delicate art of understanding emotional triggers, responses, goals, and methods of thinking."_

 _"Ah, so thats how you do it."_

 _"Not exactly, its more of... imagine me as a mirror which replicates your personality and uses that to test you. It often reveals more than a casual scan of the mind. However, your mind is... odd."_ Harry raised his eyebrow. _"I mean it, something is wrong. Still, not my area of expertise, and you seem sane... enough. Where to put you... Plenty of loyalty, and certainly no fear of hard work. Lazy though, but that works as efficiency over effort, eh? Understandable. Hufflepuff could work, but not quite perfect for you."_

The hat continued, ignoring Harry's impatience. It had to have been at least five minutes by now. _"Yes, yes, impatient. I cant say brave so much as you feed off of your fear. Quite an interesting trait, and gained through muggle Philosophy nonetheless, quite interesting. It works well enough, and you certainly are reckless, god you need help with that, maybe someone to help temper that out of you."_

 _"I will turn you into a chamberpot."_

 _"Right, back on track... Ravenclaw is a pretty good fit too, curiosity and intelligence abound, but... you are a difficult fit, arent you? Well, lets see... Quite a goal, certainly worthy of Slytherin Ambition. Cunning and sly too, but your methods do not fit with them... hrm. I am at something of a loss with you. Tell me, do you have any idea how the sorting works?"_

 _"Why is a telepathic object asking me this?"_

 _"I am empathic, not telepathic. I can mimic your personality, but not your knowledge. Ill take that as a no, though. To put it simply, I judge the values and traits of each individual when they put me on, as well as how they think. Someone who thinks circles around themselves would not fit in Ravenclaw, for example, the straightforward and patient thinkers. Someone who values family over all else would fit with Hufflepuff, and similarly for Gryffindor and Slytherin. Still, you managed to fit all of them. Happens at least once every three years, and its been due for a while, but still, quite interesting."_

 _"Then tell me, how do I think?"_

 _"Your thinking is very associative, and compressed, combined with your values, it fits with all houses. Valuing friends above all else, but with an intense desire to run wild and free. Combined with the ambitions you have, something I have never heard of by the way, and your complete obsession with knowledge... which house would you prefer?"_

 _"Slytherin. It will do well for what I intend. Any other house would be expected, but the simple fact is that Slytherin puts me on the spot and lets the world know I have ambitions. Besides, itll make people take my words under much more consideration than otherwise, given the reputation. Theyll try to see if Im turning dark, and in that, I can slip messages in there to where I can make a secondary reputation known only by those that figure it out."_

 _"...and you are the most terrifying student I have ever sorted. Not saying much given it used to be a bunch of eleven year olds, but still. Are you sure? Gryffindor would solidify your current reputation as well, and your... bravery fits perfectly as well."_

 _"Maybe, but thats just it, if I chose Gryffindor, Id be showing that I am exactly what everyone expects. By joining Slythering, no one will know what to expect and they will be forced to get to know me rather than assume."_

 _"Not a bad plan, but it will be a difficult path."_

 _"I know, but I want this."_

"Very well then, if you are sure..." For the first time, the hat spoke aloud. "Slytherin!"


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I feel I should clear a few things up before I begin.

Harry is in Slytherin. He will be dark is the more oft-used version of the word, at least on fanfiction. He will have no hesitation to deal with threats immediately and severely. Harry will be insanely powerful, not just in terms of combat ability, but also in terms of personality. Charisma and the like. His trials will be less him facing threats and more him trying to get others to be capable of facing threats. If you dislike overpowered main characters whose battles lay in areas other than physical/magical combat, leave now.

Dumbledore knows all about Harry, and this will be shown in this chapter. This is why the summary mentions Dumbledore worrying about Harry. On that note... Harry will be terrifying... to almost everyone. Almost.

Oh, before I forget, I've changed the title from Light and Dark to Light and Shadow, due to a... new interpretation of the core concept of Dark.

* * *

Dumbledore was glad the sorting had gone so well. There was no doubt everyone had been shocked to hear about Harry Potter becoming Slytherin, but nothing more than shock so far. Slytherin students seemed smart enough to not antagonize him openly, regardless of their personal feelings on him. In truth, the only person who could openly move against Harry at the moment was Dumbledore himself. The simple fact was that Harry Potter had become legendary after Voldemort's death. Moving against him openly was suicide. Even being subtle about it was risky, which was why Lucius Malfoy had sent Draco to befriend the young man, rather than antagonize him.

Dumbledore let out a chuckle at that, Lucius only saw Draco as himself, forgetting the problem that came with that. By the age of sixteen, Lucius had spent many years at Hogwarts cultivating his image and personal group. Draco was only now starting to meet new people. It was one of the reasons he believed pureblood bigots like Lucius were truly fools. They saw only the past, not the future.

He paused. Muggleborns had an incredible advantage now, with them having grown in the muggle word. The simple fact was that muggleborn children grew smarter faster than pureblood children. Oh, many would claim it was because of blood, but the simple fact was that Purebloods were too paranoid and looked down on muggles too much. Advanced science, math, particularly psychology, were all lost on Purebloods. Sure, Arithmancy provided basic equations, but the sheer variance in muggle schooling meant that muggleborns simply had better understanding of the world around them. There was a damn good reason the Wizarding World had always lagged behind the muggle one, not that any Pureblood would admit it.

He glanced around the table, looking at his staff now. Staff meetings were somewhat rare, but there was a good tradition of holding one after the first classes. Every one of his professors sat around the table. As usual, most classes were plain, though there were a few apparent stars this year. Neville Longbottom for Herbology, Daphne Greengrass for Potions, Padma Patil for Charms, Su Li for Transfiguration, and quite a few who were just behind them. Defense Against the Dark Arts took much longer to determine any serious potential, but Quirrel had made comments about one Ronald Weasely, surprisingly enough.

There were, however, two students which stood out in every class, as there usually were. Every year had two overachievers, usually rivals of some sort. Sometimes, although extremely rare, there was a single student who utterly dominated every class they were in. Tom Riddle and Dumbledore himself were the only two that came to mind. Probably because Voldemort killed anyone he saw as a potential threat.

Hermione Granger of Gryffindor, and Harry Potter of Slytherin. Finding the opinion of Hermione was simple enough, most were delighted with the girl's work ethic, and her intelligence. She was a bit by-the-book, but she was frighteningly intelligent, enough that the Professors doubted they could challenge her with first year material. That was fine, though, as she seemed quite keen on studying outside of class, something he hoped she continued to do throughout the years.

Harry Potter, however... This he felt more keen on asking directly. There was something to be said about being overt in extreme cases, even if he preferred subtlety.

Minvera McGonagall was the first to speak. "While several first years managed the initial spell, only Mr. Potter and Ms. Granger managed it on their first attempts. While Ms. Granger reviewed the spell in her head and practiced the movements for a moment, Mr. Potter cast the spell almost as soon as I instructed them to begin. His Transfiguration was far from perfect, mind you, but that level of competency is something I do not expect anyone to match soon, though Granger may keep challenging him."

There were several nods at that. Everyone else seemed to agree, Hermione showed a scary intelligence, but Harry showed the more terrifying understanding. There was a clear difference in their methods, and he was quite sure at least Severus picked it up. He had to wonder whether this would help or hinder Gryffindor-Slytherin relations.

Severus Snape spoke up now, causing Dumbledore to realize the man looked far more troubled than he expected, possibly even scared. "In Potions, both show a clear level of understanding the nature of the class." His words were curt, but there was some strange trembling to his voice. "Both managed acceptable potions, and both were capable of carrying their partners without hassle. Greengrass managed to outdo them, of course, but not by as much as she should have." The Greengrass family was notorious for potion making, so it was obvious the heir would have the advantage in his class.

He stared up, looking the headmaster in the eyes now, letting Dumbledore see just how confused and worried he really was, even if no one else saw it. "That being said..." He paused, taking a breath and folding his hands together. "Potter is the most terrifying individual I have ever met."

Whatever noise there had been in the room stopped, everyone paying clear attention now. "Severus?" Dumbledore murmured, concerned for his Potions Master.

"No, he is not dark. At least, I do not believe so." Snape seemed to debate saying something, before sighing. "I looked into his mind." There were murmurs of disapproval and disgust, but he did not care. Albus, at the very least, understood. "He knew I was there. He... he pushed images into my sight, real images, not imaginary creations." Snape sat straighter now, hands clapping against the table. "I have seen the aftermath of some of the darkest rituals imaginable, but I would gladly see them again before looking at anything he showed me. Headmaster, I do not know what that boy went through, but he is dangerous."

The dead silence that settled abated for a moment, the sheer shock of Severus Snape admitting to any of this was beyond their ability to understand. It was not the first time he had mentioned some horrifying things, having once served Voldemort. It was, however, the first time he had completely admitted to anyone terrifying him. Only Albus knew that Snape was actually something of a coward, which was why he did many of the things he did. Voldemort had been terrifying, true, but Severus had been scared of schoolboy James Potter long before that. The fact that scrawny James Potter intimidated anyone was baffling at best, but he supposed the fact that James used to run rings around Severus had a great part to play in that.

"Oh, but that was nothing compared to what he did last night, when confronted in the common room." Severus continued, unabated.

* * *

"Potter!"

Harry turned, wondering who had called his name, only to be confronted with a short blond brat, an angry scowl on his face. The crowd around them was not just first years, as the entire Slytherin house was in the common room, watching now. They all enjoyed the first-confrontations that happened every year.

"What?" Harry's face did not change, an easy going smile still present.

"You were that boy on the train. You didn't tell me who you were." Malfoy was enraged, but compared to Dudley, he simply was no threat. Not that Dudley was a threat anymore, either.

"You did not ask." Harry smiled wider, his smile being far less friendly than a moment ago. Some of the older students noticed the change, and became more interested in how this would go on. Severus watched, unseen, from the back. Everyone had focused so much on the two, he was unnoticed so far. This would be a good chance to see how arrogant the Potter brat was. Just like his father, no doubt.

Draco huffed, his face reddening, whether in rage, or embarrassment from being caught in a word game. "You should have told me. I could have helped you, you know. Some families are not worth talking to, and you were sitting with one of them."

"Oh?" There was a slight narrowing of Harry's eyes, a subtle indication of his actual anger. "What was your last name again?"

"Malfoy" Draco seemed less aggressive now, thinking Harry was on his side.

"Well then, I know of one family not worth talking to." Harry's smile turned sinister now, and almost everyone realized he was egging Draco on.

"You filthy-" Draco stepped forward, only to be cut off as Harry's hand gripped his entire face, covering his mouth and squeezing tightly, causing him a good deal of pain.

"I don't think you know how this works." Harry's light voice was the most threatening now, his smile even wider as he shoved Draco against the wall, hand still tightly squeezing his face. "You have to actually be a threat before you can threaten me." Harry leaned in close, staring Draco in the eyes. The boy quivered in fear now, completely unprepared for this. "You seem to think your family can keep you safe. Well... I don't see your family anywhere. All there is... is you, and me. Are you sure you want to make an enemy out of someone, when you are so pitifully weak?" Part of him was talking to himself, but a bigger part was focusing all his anger at the Dursleys onto this brat. He finally had a friend, even if he only knew Ron for a few hours, he would not let anyone insult his friends. He spoke louder now, still facing Draco, but talking to everyone. "You all seem to believe your families matter, or that you are something special. Hah! I have little doubt many of them see you as tools, rather than people. Programming you so you can't think for yourselves... But I'll give you a word of advice. The only way to be anything special is to MAKE yourself into something special. The weak are not the ones at the bottom, but those who sit in complacency. So... do you want to be weak? Or shall you learn what strength really is?"

No one said a word, just staring, some in disbelief, some in thought. Harry laughed once more, dropping Draco. "I guess it's a bit much to say on the first day, but better to get my message out now than wait until it loses its weight." He chuckled darkly as he headed up the stairs, no one standing in his way. Draco was holding his face, letting himself slip to the floor.

Only a few understood some of what Harry did. Only Severus understood the full weight of what Harry said. His calm demeanor when confronted by Draco showed that he was not someone to take lightly, someone who had seen combat before, on at least some level. His show of strength by casually moving Draco with one hand was just a solidifier for that fact. The arrogant posture and tone when he had spoken also showed how far he looked down on Draco, while Severus had expected him to be arrogant, that was something else. It was not the arrogant 'I am above everyone' that James Potter displayed. It was the type of arrogance that, instead of placing Harry on a pedestal in his own mind, put everyone else in holes. It was not that he believed that much in himself, but that he had no faith in anyone but himself. It was a distinct, if subtle difference.

Worse than that, Harry attacked the very ideals of Purebloods. Family. It was not untrue, what he said about families seeing their children more as tools than people. The line about thinking for themselves, while also true, was terrifying progressive. Not that Snape was against it, it may keep others from going down the path he had. It was like the exact opposite of Voldemort's tactic. Voldemort, when convincing others to join him, had showed that they were stronger together than they were apart. Harry had just turned that on its head by pointing out that not only were they basically clones of their parents, making them feel less like individuals, but also that they did not think for themselves, cementing the concepts into their heads. Oh they were not about to just change their views the next day, but the seed of doubt was planted, and most did not realize it.

Severus knew that the ones who thought about it would begin to question things, to question who they really were. A terrifying thing to ask yourself, but a necessary one. To think that a first year made others ask themselves this... It would start something special in this house. The comment about making yourselves special was also interesting, it showed that blood bigotry would only alienate a person from Harry, and that he believed strength came from something other than blood. Severus was not inclined to agree, but he would not argue that point. Ultimately, his message came down to three statements.

1\. I am dangerous, do not bother me.

2\. You are all weak because you cannot move away from the past.

3\. I care nothing for your families, only your own power.

It was an ultimately progressive and forward thinking speech, driving home points most would either ignore out of arrogance, or take in through doubt. A nice way to separate the fence-sitters from the hardcore bigots. Knowing this... why was he shaking?

It took him a moment to realize, how that speech was a match for Voldemort's speeches. Not in message, it was almost opposite there, but in charisma and intensity. While Voldemort's speeches were more about the importance of blood, Harry's was about the importance of power. Their messages could be viewed together and seen to be similar, but only on the surface. Voldemort stressed the importance of working together. It was how his Death Eaters were actually a threat to Aurors, after all. Harry seemed to imply only the strength of the individual mattered, and that those who do not seek strength actively were weak, no matter if they worked together or not.

* * *

"After that, everyone went about their normal business." Snape seemed to deflate in on himself as he finished speaking of the events.

Dumbledore hesitated for a moment, rolling this information over in his head. He nodded. "Well! I am sure you are all tired, and have much to plan for classes, so you are dismissed. If you have any troubles, feel free to come to me." They knew this, of course, but it was nice to remind them from time to time. It was not rare for teachers to be stressed too much.

It was only around fifteen minutes after everyone left that he heard a knock at his door, already knowing who it was. After all, he was the one who wanted this meeting. "Come in."

Harry Potter casually opened the door, the same easy-going smile from before on his face. "Good evening Albus."

Albus smiled, gesturing towards the chair in front of his desk. "Please, Harry, take a seat." They were on good enough terms to speak to each other with their first names, at least. Part of it may be because of their mutual dislike of formality, even if Harry's was more than his own.

"Of course." Harry sat before him, leaning back slightly. "Do you have them?"

Albus grimaced, knowing what Harry wanted. It was his price for... many things, and Albus certainly owed him. "Yes, I have them here now." He pulled out a book, and a potion from somewhere behind his desk. The potion was a bubbling green mass, corked off to prevent contamination in his cluttered office. "Are you sure you want this? The consequences... You will not be able to use Polyjuice potion, use any metamorphmagus abilities, become an animagus, or duel competitively. Quidditch is also not possible after this, for obvious reasons."

Harry nodded, his smile vanishing. "You know the prophecy, you told me the damn thing. I am not doing this because of power hunger, I am doing this because I want to have a fighting chance. The bonuses may seem minor to you, compared to the restrictions at least, but to me, its the difference between life and death."

Albus nodded wearily. He knew what he had agreed to, but he wanted Harry to be absolutely sure. "And the ritual? It is a dark one, you know."

Harry snorted. "I know enough to say it is not. The Ministry likes to say anything to do with the soul is dark, or at least borderline. This ritual is far less dark than even the mild curses you teach here, and we both know it."

"But are you ready for it? To face the consequences?" Albus countered.

"The ritual will cause me to weaken magically, I know. I'm not too worried, its a very flexible ability I will be gaining, especially since I know what it is." Harry grinned.

"Harry..." Albus began. "The ritual gives you powers based on your soul. How can you say you know what it will be?"

"I know who I am, Albus. I know what my soul is, and I know what it will become." Harry seemed more confident than ever, a far cry from when the two had first met five years ago.

"You may know who you are now, but how can you possibly know who you will become?"

"Because it is a choice." Harry stated plainly. "Everything we do is a choice, and so long as my choices are that of what I desire to become, I will become what I desire. Are you done testing me? I want to finish this as soon as possible, preferably so no one notices any changes in me."

Albus grinned, glad Harry had known it was mostly testing, but wondering whether or not he was doing the right thing now. "Very well, but make sure no one else reads that book. You, I can trust with that ritual, but anyone else..." To be entirely fair, the ritual was not dangerous, but it did have the potential to make someone dangerous.

"Of course, Albus." Harry smiled once more. "Besides, I doubt any of the Slytherins would attempt such a ritual. Throwing away some ancient traditions for their truest soul manifesting as a power? Unlikely. But you have my word either way."

Albus nodded, before hesitating. "Harry... Do you still blame me?"

Harry's smile disappeared, replaced by a tired expression. "Albus, you did not know. You had no way of knowing, and besides... I took care of it. It has been five years since then. I don't like to hold grudges, and you've helped me more than enough."

Albus nodded once more, dismissing Harry. It was only the distant memory of the same conversation with Tom Riddle that kept him from being happy at the conclusion. He was guiding Harry far more directly than Riddle, which he hoped meant that Harry would take on some of his own characteristics as well. Mercy being something Harry needed to learn, if their initial meeting was anything to go by.


End file.
